Surveying the seen: 100 years of British vision.
British journal of psychology London England 1953 (2001)
- PubMed: 11256771
Available from www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
or
Abstract
Perceptual phenomena and their interpretations have fashioned the course of psychology. This article surveys how theories of visual perception and methodologies have developed during the lifetime of the British Psychological Society. The experimental study of vision was instigated by British natural philosophers in the early nineteenth century but this impetus was not maintained thereafter. Not until the 1930s and 1940s did research on perception resume in earnest within British universities. The adoption of concepts (such as schema) potentially grounded in neural organization, particularly by Bartlett and Craik, accelerated experimental, theoretical and applied vision research. From mid-century the influence of information processing models of perception became increasingly dominant, and they were often integrated with the rapidly expanding understanding of neurophysiological underpinnings. The epitome of these developments was Marr's model of vision which, in our view, marked the start of the modern era of vision research. Computers have transformed the nature of stimulus control and response measurement in perceptual experiments. More naturalistic stimuli can be presented and manipulated, and complex behavioural responses, such as patterns of eye movements, fractionated. Non-invasive recording of brain activity to visual stimulation has similarly been transformed with a variety of methods for imaging brain activity. Neuroimaging has been applied to localizing perceptual and cognitive functions and in studying patients with known deficits in visual recognition. However, the eagerness with which the computer has been adopted by perceptual psychologists is likely to be tempered by a growing awareness of the differences between viewing scenes and simulations of them.
Available from www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
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Surveying the seen: 100 years of ...
Surveyingtheseen:100yearsofBritishvision NicholasJ.Wade* DepartmentofPsychology,UniversityofDundee,UK Vicki Bruce DepartmentofPsychology,UniversityofStirling,UK Perceptualphenomenaandtheirinterpretationshavefashionedthecourseofpsychology. Thisarticlesurveyshowtheoriesofvisualperceptionandmethodologieshavedeveloped duringthelifetimeoftheBritishPsychologicalSociety.Theexperimentalstudyof visionwasinstigatedbyBritishnaturalphilosophersintheearlynineteenthcenturybut thisimpetuswasnotmaintainedthereafter.Notuntilthe1930sand1940sdidresearch onperceptionresumeinearnestwithinBritishuniversities.Theadoptionofconcepts (suchasschema)potentiallygroundedinneuralorganization,particularlybyBartlett andCraik,acceleratedexperimental,theoreticalandappliedvisionresearch.From mid-centurythein uenceofinformationprocessingmodelsofperceptionbecame increasinglydominant,andtheywereoftenintegratedwiththerapidlyexpanding understandingofneurophysiologicalunderpinnings.Theepitomeofthesedevelop- mentswasMarr��� smodelofvisionwhich,inourview,markedthestartofthemodern eraofvisionresearch.Computershavetransformedthenatureofstimuluscontroland responsemeasurementinperceptualexperiments.Morenaturalisticstimulicanbe presentedandmanipulated,andcomplexbehaviouralresponses,suchaspatternsofeye movements,fractionated.Non-invasiverecordingofbrainactivitytovisualstimula- tionhassimilarlybeentransformedwithavarietyofmethodsforimagingbrain activity.Neuroimaginghasbeenappliedtolocalizingperceptualandcognitive functionsandinstudyingpatientswithknownde citsinvisualrecognition.However, theeagernesswithwhichthecomputerhasbeenadoptedbyperceptualpsychologistsis likelytobetemperedbyagrowingawarenessofthedifferencesbetweenviewingscenes andsimulationsofthem. Allthatweknowofnature,orofexistence,maybecomparedtoatree,whichhathitsroot,trunk,and branches.Inthistreeofknowledge,perceptionistheroot,commonunderstandingisthetrunk,and thesciencesarethebranches. ThomasReid(1764,p.424) Perceptionprovidesnotonlytherootstothetreeofknowledge,butalsotothesaplingof psychology.Itwasadominantfactorinthedevelopmentofpsychologyanditremains oneofthedomainsinwhichprogresscanbecharted.Thisreviewbrie ydescribes19th centuryin uencesonperceptualresearchduringthe20thcentury,beforehighlighting 79 BritishJournalofPsychology (2001), 92, 79���112 PrintedinGreatBritain �� 2001TheBritishPsychologicalSociety *RequestsforreprintsshouldbeaddressedtoProfessorNickWade,DepartmentofPsychology,UniversityofDundee, DundeeDD14HN,UK(e-mail:N.J.WADE@dundee.ac.uk).
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importantlandmarksinperceptualresearchduringthelifetimeoftheBritishPsycho- logicalSociety.The nalsectionsdescribesomeofthemostimportantcontemporary workinvisualperception,andspeculateabouthowtheseareasmaydevelopinthenext few years. Giventheenormousvolume,andconsiderableprogress,ofresearchinvisualpercep- tion,wehavehadtobeselectiveinthetopicswehavebeenabletoelaboratehere.The motionafter-effectandaspectsoffaceperceptionfeaturemoreprominentlythanthey mightifthisreviewhadbeencraftedbyothers,butwehopeourselectivityallowsusto achievemorecoherencethanmightbepossiblewithamoreeven-handedselectionof topics. Oneenduringfeatureofthestudyofvisualperception,wellillustratedintheareaswe havechosentostress,hasbeenitsinterdisciplinarity.Itisdif culttodiscussspecically psychologicalresearch:psychologistsareamongmanyvarietiesofvisionscientist.One ratherdisturbingrecenttrendhasbeenthetendencyforthevisionsciencecommunityto setitselfapartfromthepsychologicalone.Wedemonstratethatthereremaingenuinely psychologicalproblemswithinthe eldofvisionsciencethatrequirecontactbetween visionandotherareasofpsychology.Thisiscertainlyalessonthatcanbedrawnfromits history. Nineteenthcenturyprecursors Theempiricistphilosophers,fromLockeonwards,routedtheacquisitionofknowledge throughthesenses,andsubsequentempiricalpsychologistshavesoughttosigntheway ingreaterdetail.The rststageinvolveddevelopingexperimentalproceduresthatwould bringsomeprecisioninstimuluscontrolakintothatadoptedsuccessfullyinthephysical sciences.NaturalphilosophersinBritaindevisedtheprinciplesonwhichtheperception ofcolour,motionanddepthcouldberenderedexperimentallytractable.T.Young(1802) speculatedthatcolourperceptioncouldbebaseduponthedetectionofthreeprimaries andMaxwell(1855)providedexperimentalsupportforthistrichromatictheory.Faraday (1831 seeFig.1a)suggestedhowsuccessiveimagespresentedinclosetemporalsequence couldresultintheperceptionofmovement,settingintrainthelonglineofresearchon stroboscopicmotion.Talbot(1834 seeFig.1b),beforeheturnedtophotography, establishedalawfulrelationshipbetweenapparentbrightnessandintermittentlight stimulation.Wheatstone(1838,1852 seeFig.1c)demonstratedthatdepthcouldbe synthesizedfromtwoslightlydisparateimagespresentedtoseparateeyes,dissociating depthperceptionfromitsobjectbase healsodevelopedtheelectromagneticchronoscope thatsubsequentlywasusedforreactiontimemeasurements(seeEdgell&Symes,1906). Theseinsightsextendedthescopeofexperimentalperception,althoughtheywerenot activelypursuedinBritaintotheextentthattheywereadoptedandadaptedwithinthe Germanscienti ccommunity(seeWade&Heller,1997).However,thosewhosoughtto controlthestimulushadlessregardfortheresponse.Psychophysicsdevelopedalmost independentlyoftheseinstrumentsforstimulusmanipulation,andthemethodsdevised byWeberandFechnerwerebasedonverysimpletaskslikeliftingweights(seeRoss& Murray,1978).WilliamJames(1890,pp.226��� 7)notedthatWheatstone��� s rstpaper: containsthegermofalmostallthemethodsappliedsincetothestudyofopticalperception.Itseemsa pitythatEngland{sic},leadingoffsobrilliantlythemodernepochofthisstudy,shouldsoquickly NicholasJ.WadeandVickiBruce 80
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havedroppedoutofthe eld.AlmostallsubsequentprogresshasbeenmadeinGermany,Holland, and, longointervallo, America. Helmholtz(1867,2000)wasparticularlyattractedtotheexperimentalapproachandhis studentsdevelopedmethodsfurther(seeCahan,1993).ThedominanceofGerman researchinperceptionisclearly,thoughindirectly,re ectedinwhatisperhapsthemost thoroughreviewofvisionattheturnofthecentury:inRivers��� s(1900)surveymorethan 75%ofreferencesweretoGermansources. 81 Surveyingtheseen Figure 1. Theinstrumentaloriginsofperceptualresearch:(a)MichaelFaraday(1791��� 1867)afteraportrait from TheWorld��� sGreatMen (London:TheLondonPrintingandPublishingCo.1854)enclosedinapattern producedbyhiscounter-rotatingsectorsfromFaraday(1831) (b)WilliamHenryFoxTalbot(1800���1877) afteraphotographicreproductionfrom 100YearsofPhotography1839��� 1939 (London:TheScienceMuseum) presentedwithinadiscthatheemployedforintermittentstimulation(fromTalbot,1834) (c)Charles Wheatstone(1802��� 1875)afteraportraitfrom TheIllustratedLondonNews (1868),52,145,combinedinthe mirrorsofhisstereoscope(fromWade,1995). {�� IllustrationbyNicholasWade.Reprintedwithpermission.}
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TheemergenceofBritishpsychology Boring(1942)remarkedthatHelmholtzcarriedthetorchofphilosophicalempiricismin ahostileKantianclimate,asdidhiserstwhileassistantWundt.However,theirbrandsof empiricismwerequitedifferent.Helmholtzborrowedthenotionofunconscious inferencefromBerkeleytoaccountforcharacteristicsofcolourandspaceperception, andtheconceptisstillactiveinsometheories.Wundtwasmoreambitiousandapplied empiricistandassociationistideastoaccountforconsciousnessitself.Hisideaswere carriedtoAmericabythelikesofTitchener(seeHilgard,1987),buthisstructuralist theorywasnotwidelyfollowedinBritain.Thedemiseofstructuralisminthesecond decadeofthe20thcenturyanditsgradualreplacementbybehaviourismontheonehand andGestaltpsychologyontheotheralsoseemedtopassrelativelyunnoticedwithin Britishpsychology.Behaviourism,withitsrelianceonassociationism,wasstrongly opposedbyJamesWard(1886,1918 seeFig.2a)whomaintainedanintrospectionist approach.Inthe rstarticlepublishedinthe BritishJournalofPsychology,Wardwrote: ��� physiologicalandcomparativepsychologymustfallbackonthefactsandanalysisofour ownexperience���(1904,p.25).Hiswidespreadin uencewasonefactorinretardingthe spreadofexperimentalpsychology,anditre ectedtheneglectofpsychologygenerally withinBritishacademicinstitutions.Relativelylittleresearchinexperimentalpercep- tionwasconductedwithinBritainuntilwellintothe20thcentury.Someofthosewho wereactiveexperimentalistswereoftendiscouragedfromconductingexperimental research.Forexamplein1904,whenWilliamMcDougall(Fig.2c)tookareadership atOxfordUniversity,thetermsofhisappointmentdeniedhimaccesstoalaboratory. However,hedidcontributemanyarticlesonperception(withexperimentalstudiesof afterimages,binocularrivalry,Fechner��� sparadox, utteringhearts,infantcolourvision, andvisualpersistence)totheinitialvolumesofthe BritishJournalofPsychology, before his interestsbecamemorehormic.Indeed,theinitialvolumesofthejournalwereweighted heavilyinfavourofperception,particularlystudiesofillusions,butthisdidnotcontinue. Thisprobablyre ectedthein uenceofW.H.R.Rivers(Fig.2b),whowrotean extensivereviewofvisionattheturnofthecentury(Rivers,1900).Heismostnoted forinstigatingcross-culturalinvestigationsofperception,andhealsoconducted neurologicalresearchwithHenryHead(seeDeregowski,1998 Whittle,2000).Rivers deliveredlecturesonsensoryphysiologyatbothCambridgeandUniversityCollege, London(UCL). McDougallsupervisedtheresearchatUCLofAdolfWohlgemuth(1911)onthe motionafter-effect(MAE)andactedasaparticipantinsomeoftheexperiments. Followingobservationofamovingsurface,likedescendingwater,stationaryobjects appeartomoveintheoppositedirection.ThisMAEwasdescribedgraphicallyby Addams(1834)afterobservingtheFallsofFoyersinScotland,anditwascalledthe waterfallillusionbySilvanusThompson(1880).Aswasthecaseforstereoscopicdepth perception,mostoftheresearchonthistopicinthe19thcenturywasconductedin Germany(seeWade,1994).Wohlgemuth��� sdoctoraldissertationwaspublishedasthe rst MonographSupplement of the BritishJournalofPsychology:hesummarizedtheextensive researchonMAEs,addednovelexperimentalvariationsofhisown,andadvanceda physiologicalmodeltoaccountforitsoccurrence. TheconservatismandsuspicionofBritishuniversitiestonewlyestablisheddisciplines NicholasJ.WadeandVickiBruce 82
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83 Surveyingtheseen Figure 2. Theeditorialbaseofthe rstvolumesofthe BritishJournalofPsychology WardandRiverswerethe editorsandMcDougallwasontheeditorialboard.(a)JamesWard(1843��� 1925)afterafrontispieceportrait in the BritishJournalofPsychology (1925),textfromWard(1918) (b)WilliamHalseRiversRivers(1864��� 1922)afterafrontispieceportraitinRivers(1923),textfromRivers(1900) (c)WilliamMcDougall(1871��� 1938)afteraportraitinMurchison(1926)embeddedinsigni cantdatesfortheBritishPsychological Society. {�� IllustrationbyNicholasWade.Reprintedwithpermission.}
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